Unknown… wasp?
Location: California
April 3, 2012 7:41 pm
I’m the first to admit I know nothing about bugs and ID-ing them in general, but this little fellow was a complete mystery to me. Never seen one like him before! He was found near the site of what we think was a small (empty) wasp’s nest… is he (she?) one?
Signature: Confused in California

European Earwig

Dear Confused in California,
Your insect is an Earwig, not a wasp.  Earwigs often seek tight spaces in which to take shelter, and the origin of the name Earwig, according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, is Anglo-Saxon earwicga, which means “ear beetle or worm”.  Hogue writes that the Anglo-Saxons:  ” who lived in sod huts, where these insects also lived, occasionally found them in their ears upon waking from a sound sleep on a straw mattress.  The warm and tight ear opening of a slumbering person might well have been a snug hiding place for these crevice-loving creatures.”  Based on its coloration, we believe your Earwig is a European Earwig, Forficula auricularia, and you may compare your photo to this image from BugGuide.

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Earwig?
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 1, 2011 12:15 pm
I first saw this bug in my bathroom floor and posted it on facebook, noone knew what it was. It measured 1cm in lenght with its tail straight back. This time it kept its tail rolled up and forward like a scorpion even when running wild. It was very fast. Its back legs are bigger. 6 feet total. Last time I had played with it a little and felt its back with a metal pick and it felt hard. I would like to know if it is a dangerous bug or not. I also looked it up here and saw a similar one but the tail is different. The one in your site, also from Puerto Rico is from the west coast of the Island. This one is from the Northeast side. Nearby is a river. I let it go outside, even though a couple people said I should kill it.
Signature: Samuel

Earwig from Puerto Rico

Dear Samuel,
You are correct that this is an Earwig, and it does look like the same species we posted previously from Puerto Rico that Karl identified as Doru albepes.

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What is this?
Location: Eagle Pass, TX
September 12, 2011 1:35 am
I saw it crawling around my living room, at first I thought it was a cricket that escaped from my Gecko’s tank. That was until I turned the lights on.
Signature: Mike C.

Earwig

Dear Mike,
This is an Earwig, an insect that is common in gardens.  We have identified it as a Striped Earwig, Labidura riparia, based on this photo posted to BugGuide.  According to BugGuide, it:  “Preys on various invertebrates, but may occasionally switch to plant material.”

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Earwigs Everywhere!
Location: Southern California Rural Desert
August 19, 2011 12:37 am
Hello Bugman!
We love your site, and have found it extremely helpful in identifying all the creepy-crawlies we have around our desert home. Anyway quick question for you. We are having an Earwig issue. We find them all over the house it night! In every room, but only at night. Some nights we’ll see two dozen or more! Is there anything we can do to get rid of these guys? Does seeing a lot mean there’s like a nest or colony somewhere? Any info would be greatly appreciated! (P.S. I didn’t have a picture, but they pretty much look like the drawing attached.)
Signature: Earwigged-Out

Earwig from Palmdale

Dear Earwigged-Out,
We have decided to illustrate your inquiry with a photo from our archives of an immature Earwig from Palmdale.  That person just asked for an identification.  They did not ask for advice on the control of Earwigs.  Earwigs are generally associated with the garden, but they are attracted to lights.  We need to do some research on this matter.  We wonder if inhospitable conditions in the desert are causing them to change their habits.  Perhaps they were originally introduced to the area with plantings from a nursery and in an effort to survive in an area that is not suited to their love of moisture, they have fled inside to the comfortable conditions you have created for yourself and your family.  Is this a new development or a long established community?  We expect that Earwigs would be perfectly content to scavenge in your basement for any food that is left available to them, and if conditions are right, that they would reproduce there.  Earwigs are known for some maternal care of the offspring.  Again, we need to do some research.

Hi Bugman,
Thank you for the reply!  Our town is not that far from Palmdale, so the image you used is exactly like the earwigs we are seeing in our home.  Our home, as well as most of the homes in our area, is actually 60+ years old.  But a few years before we moved in, the yard was renovated with some new cacti and other plants, so it is very possible the earwigs came from a nursery.   We definitely feel like since the weather has gotten extremely hot over the last 2 months (110+ degrees daily), we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of earwigs in the house.  They are definitely nocturnal — I can’t remember ever seeing one crawling across the floor during the daytime.  We don’t have a basement, and the ironic thing is, our home is made out of steel!  So I’m very surprised they’re getting in, although with the home being so old, I’m sure there’s loads of little spaces here and there.
Do earwigs eat other bugs?  What does their diet primarily consist of?  I’m just wondering if maybe we find a food source and remove that, it would help with our invasion!  We have loads of other spiders, bugs, lizards and birds in our yard (nesting roadrunners even!), and we’d really love the earwigs to stay out there too!
Anyway, thanks again!
Earwigged-Out

Hi again Earwigged-Out,
It is our understanding that Earwigs are omnivorous and that they will eat both plants and animals.  They are frequently found in compost piles.  We did find this interesting bit of information on BugGuide:  “Earwigs are sensitive to heat and dryness, so they usually hide in cool, dark places during the day and come out at night.  Some species hide mostly under leaves, rocks and other debris, while others hide under the bark of trees. An important habitat in the deserts of the southwest US is inside rotting cactus- one of the few places with constant moisture even in the driest parts of the year.”

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Help identifying bug, It’s driving us crazy!
Location: Palmdale, California
May 15, 2011 12:50 am
Hello, I see these bugs mostly downstairs in my house. In the kitchen and sometimes the bathrooms. I have also seen them in my den/dining room and crawling on walls and once on the ceiling. I live in the Antelope Valley of California, also known as the High Desert. There are tons of mountains around. The climate right now varies from cold to hot although it is spring. Winters get as cold as 20 degrees, and summers 110.
Signature: Driven crazy

Earwig

Dear Driven crazy,
You have Earwigs.  They will not harm you or your home, but they may eat young seedlings and tender plants in the garden.

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Weird bug!!
November 17, 2010
Found on 11/16/2010 in Superior,WI. I’m not sure what it is and have never seen anything like this in my life before!! I have a 7 month old daughter and I’m very concerned there could be more and could be harmful to her? Please help!!
Sent from my iPhone

Earwig

What a beautiful image of an Earwig.  They are not considered dangerous, however, Earwigs often seek out enclosed, dark places for security.  The name Earwig is allegedly derived from the Anglo-Saxon word earwicga, which according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, refers to the notion that the Anglo-Saxons slept in sod huts with straw mattresses and “the warm and tight ear opening of a slumbering person might well have been a snug hiding place for these crevice-loving creatures.”  We can imagine an Aryan giant leaping to his feet screaming “earwicga” after an Earwig ventured toward his eardrum.  Earwigs, especially male Earwigs, have forceps at the end of the abdomen that can pinch lightly.

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Can’t identify
Location: Camp Casey, South Korea
November 12, 2010 6:47 am
I am sure you will know this one immediately since I see you have several of them on your page as part of the art. I found this in my room earlier, it was very small around 1 inch.
Signature: Mini Man

Earwig

Dear Mini Man,
This is an Earwig, and it has several very distinctive features that should make it relatively easy to identify to the species level, however it is not one of the five species pictured on the Earwigs of Korea webpage we located.  The unique features on your specimen include the very lengthy forceps and the narrow neck between the head and thorax.

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